Why does Kirk retire?

[F. King Daniel]

If being captain is his "first, best destiny" and he advises Picard never to give up the centre seat, why does Kirk retire after STVI? He's in his 60's, which makes him about the same age as Picard in TNG's later years. He's always shown to be miserable and unfulfilled outside of Starfleet, so why not take on a new ship and crew?

 

[BillJ]

Probably because he was miserable inside of Starfleet as well. After the various things he's gotten away with, he likely no longer has the latitude to make big decisions and is on a short chain. It didn't even seem like the Enterprise was on active duty during The Undiscovered Country.

 

[Nyotarules]

Because Starfleet was worried he would keeping shooting at the Klingons.

 

[urbandefault]

That dry starship air played hell with his rug.

 

[Solid Snack]

Didn't Generations also imply that he had a short retirement between TMP and TWOK?

 

[arch101]

Why does a pro athlete who loves his sport retire? Because he knows he's not on top of his game anymore and he want's to free up a spot for someone coming up. Mario Andretti was still winning races when he retired in his early 50s, but he just knew it was time. Of course, over 20 years later, Andretti still drives fans around in the 2-seater and, when he drives his old racecars at vintage events, he often sets comparable lap times to current drivers in modern equipment. So, he may not be what he was, but he hasn't lost much in old age. If they hadn't wasted Kirk's death on Generations, we might still be seeing old Kirk, occasionally shrugging off retirement to handle some emergency or first contact or something.
Even people who love their work eventually grow weary of doing it every day, but enjoy occasionally stretching their legs.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Didn't Generations also imply that he had a short retirement between TMP and TWOK?

I'm not sure when that retirement took place. Maybe it was after TUC?

 

[JonnyQuest037]

Didn't Generations also imply that he had a short retirement between TMP and TWOK?

Yeah, that's the one I was assuming that this thread would be about, actually.

I'm not sure when that retirement took place. Maybe it was after TUC?

No, the Okuda Chronology places the Enterprise-B scenes in GEN in 2293, so shortly after TUC. There are references to 9 years ago and 7 years ago, so that would put Kirk's temporary retirement shortly before TWOK. They never went into the reasons for that one.

As for the TUC retirement, I just assume that Kirk had finally worked out all of his issues by the time that one rolled around. Of course, then GEN had to muck up that happy ending by implying that Kirk was unfulfilled again...

 

[Lance]

Because Starfleet was worried he would keeping shooting at the Klingons.

On some level this answer does have a certain ring of truth to it. Kirk had just been involved in 'saving' the Khitomer conference. The Federation was heading towards a brave shiny new future with the Klingons but Kirk was in many ways a product of war, trained to suspect the worst of Klingons even if his instincts were to welcome the new era with an open heart and befriend them. Captain Ben Maxwell (TNG: The Wounded) is what we get when somebody resists the new broom. Maybe Kirk feared he could be like that.

Or perhaps Kirk retired because he simply recognised that his page in history was done, and that the next generation needed to be able to forge a fresh path without "dinosaurs" like him.

 

[Nyotarules]

^ I think both reasons are valid. Kirk did mention something like that in TUC, or was it Spock who asked if they had become a joke????
The Crucible novel explores both retirements - the first one due to Edith Keeler's death and the second one due toKirk did not like how Starfleet was politicised. Neither is canon or entirely convincing premises but interesting.

 

[Ronald Held]

I can see Kirk fed up with Starfleet around TUC. after months of retirement, he realizes, again, he belongs in the center seat.

 

[Scout101]

Gallivanting around the cosmos is a game for the young?

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

He doesn't know what he wants.

Maybe they should have given him a shuttle like they did with Scotty later? But then he'd have nobody to command, or at least no system to enforce his commands on an independent ship. And if he operated outside of Starfleet, he would have no back-up help, no hands tied by command that force him to work around the rules...

 

[Nyotarules]

I find Kirk a pathetic character in a way, anyone whose whole life is wrapped up around nothing but their career and an inanimate object called Enterprise needs therapy.

 

[wayoung]

Kirk says that he's "done his bit for King and Country" . His ship, a new one to him, is already so out of date it's being decommissioned and replaced with an even newer version. His friends and coworkers have moved on, either to other vessels (Sulu), jobs (Spock), or retirement (Scott). He feels like he's paid his dues. It's time for him to slow down, relax, have a real life outside of Starfleet. Time for someone else, new minds, new tech, new ways, to take his place. He re-iterates this in Generations. I don't see this as out of character at all.

Edit: I'm not against this retirement being mandatory either, as others have suggested. Maybe it was heavily suggested to him that it's time he stepped aside, the above reasons being the polite reasoning.

Off topic, I never noticed how many S names there are in the TOS crew until just now....

 

[Turd Ferguson]

On some level this answer does have a certain ring of truth to it. Kirk had just been involved in 'saving' the Khitomer conference. The Federation was heading towards a brave shiny new future with the Klingons but Kirk was in many ways a product of war, trained to suspect the worst of Klingons even if his instincts were to welcome the new era with an open heart and befriend them. Captain Ben Maxwell (TNG: The Wounded) is what we get when somebody resists the new broom. Maybe Kirk feared he could be like that.

Or perhaps Kirk retired because he simply recognised that his page in history was done, and that the next generation needed to be able to forge a fresh path without "dinosaurs" like him.

I would imagine keeping Kirk on active duty (even after saving Chancellor Azetbur and the Khitomer Conference) wouldn't be in Starfleet's best interest, ESPECIALLY with that "I've never trusted Klingons and I never will..." recording floating around the galaxy

 

[Racefuel]

Kirk's first retirement:
He was around 50 years old at that point..and wanted to live life outside of Starfleet (having been in for about 20 years) and experienced a lot (at least 10 years of commanding the Enterprise in both her pre-refit and refit forms) but like a lot of type A personalities..couldn't let go.

Second Retirement: He was about 60 at that point, and like Gorkon implied "If there is to be a brave new world our generation will have the hardest time living in it"..everything he knew was changing, so he elected to retire since presumably he wasn't going to get back into the flag ranks.
Also I think it was clear that he in particular was being "encouraged" to retire..at least from active duty. I'd like to think Kirk would continue on instructing at Starfleet Academy

 

[JonnyQuest037]

Kirk's first retirement:
He was around 50 years old at that point..and wanted to live life outside of Starfleet (having been in for about 20 years)...

More like over 30 years. He'd joined the Academy around age 17, not 30.

 

[Racefuel]

More like over 30 years. He'd joined the Academy around age 17, not 30.

No you're right...I checked Memory Alpha and it put his start time in the academy in 2250 or thereabouts..silly math.

 

[Ronald Held]

Kirk would be unhappy doing bureaucratic work, maybe less so teaching.